Wuhan Open: Aryna Sabalenka beats Zheng Qinwen to win third straight title

Aryna Sabalenka became the first player to win the Wuhan Open three times with a hard-fought victory over Zheng Qinwen in the final on Sunday.

The 26-year-old Belarusian was defeated by China’s Zheng in three sets in a thrilling rematch of this year’s Australian Open final, in which she also claimed victory.

Sabalenka won her fourth women’s singles title of the year 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 and remains unbeaten in Wuhan.

“That sounds crazy,” she said. “This place definitely feels like home.

“I’m pretty sure we’ll play many more finals against each other.”

Top seed Sabalenka took the first set in just 38 minutes, but Zheng made her comeback in a thrilling second to force the decider.

There, Zheng trailed 3-0 and while she trailed by two games, she lost her serve again as Sabalenka took a 5-2 lead.

The world number two failed to close out the match when Zheng made the break at the final point, but ultimately secured her 17th career title with her third championship point.

Reigning Olympic champion Zheng, who was the first Chinese player to reach a WTA 1000 final, has now lost all four matches against the three-time Grand Slam champion.

“I’ll feel better next time,” she said.

Sabalenka is now unbeaten in 17 consecutive games in Wuhan, breaking Petra Kvitova’s record for most games in the tournament.

The victory adds to a successful year in which she won both the Australian Open and US Open and reached seven singles finals.